Canada Invests $1.98 Million in Biodegradable Fertiliser Coating Technology

The Government of Canada has announced an investment of up to $1,976,150 for Lucent BioSciences, a Burnaby, British Columbia-based company, under the Agricultural Clean Technology Program's Research and Innovation Stream. The funding will support development of a biodegradable coating for controlled-release nitrogen fertilisers, intended to replace the microplastic coatings most such fertilisers currently use.

 

Lucent Bio's coating is made from surplus starch fertiliser and is designed to release nitrogen closer to when plants need it most during their growth cycle, helping plants use nitrogen more efficiently. The company states this could allow farmers to use less fertiliser overall, reducing both greenhouse gas emissions and fertiliser costs, while decreasing microplastic contamination in the environment associated with conventional coating materials.

 

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Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Heath MacDonald said the investment supports companies "developing technologies that could help farmers use nitrogen more efficiently while reducing fertilizer use, emissions, and microplastics." Lucent Bio Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer Farah Nour said the funding allows the company "to improve this work faster and brings us one step closer to putting a Canadian-developed solution into the hands of growers," describing the technology as applying "biodegradable biopolymer technology to controlled-release nitrogen to help growers get more value from the nitrogen they apply while reducing nutrient losses to the environment."

 

Source: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada